Neighborly Love
by Goddess Bless
Summary: Reid is injured after a run in with an unsub. As he is going to be staying in the hospital for the time being it's time to come clean about his love life before his partner meets his work partners. He could think of about a million things he'd rather do than tell profilers that he not only likes both men and women, but that he has been dating a guy for quite some time. SR.NL


**Thought that I would post this quickie as I'm starting to get back into the swing of writing. I'm slowly settling back into my academic year life and am counting down the days until I am done. Does that sound bad? Yes? Well... Um, I have nothing to say to that other than you try going straight through multiple degrees and not wanting a break. A break in between this one and my next one, I assure you. I've never seen this pairing, however I was intrigued when I saw an interview where the producers of the show admitted that the original intention was to have Spencer Reid be a bisexual male. I hope that you all enjoy and look for my upcoming posts for all the other open fics!**

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He had been injured. He had almost died again. These were the thoughts that immediately surfaced across the top of the great recesses of Spencer's mind. This was yet again another clue as to why he was unfit for fieldwork. But then again, he cracked his eyes and stared up at the dropped white ceiling of the ICU room, hadn't he proven himself a hundred other times to be more than capable? So, maybe it wasn't that he was unfit for fieldwork. The ringing in his ears intensified until the sound morphed into the beeping of his heart monitor and the talking of those around him.

"Reid." Morgan's hand was on his and Reid felt rather and heard his sigh of relief. "Don't you ever do that to me again, you hear me?" Spencer gave him a small smile and squeezed.

"I can't promise that."

Morgan smiled back. "I know. Sometimes I wished that you cared less about others and more about yourself. If you did you wouldn't get in here as often as you do."

The whole situation caught back up with him. He had traded himself for three teenage girls that had been being held hostage. The unsub had shot him in hopes of escaping while the team would be tending to Reid. With his unoccupied hand (now being held by JJ) Reid felt up and down his wrapped and packed abdomen.

"How long have I been out?" Spencer asked fearfully and trying to not think of the extent of the damage.

"Three days. You should have seen what they had to do to keep you alive..." Garcia started to explain, however Spencer stopped listening. He had been unconscious for three days. God. His partner, what was his partner thinking about right now. He had been able to sneak away for a private phone chat every night that they've gone away since the very beginning of their relationship and now?

"I." Reid paused. "Garcia stop talking for a moment." He looked around the room and saw a plastic bag that contained his personal effects. "I would like to make a call. If someone could hand me my cell phone." There was a muttering of talking and a flurry of movement before his mobile was placed into his hands and the team vacated the room. He didn't have much time, soon the doctors would come to check his vitals and his cognitive abilities, but first he had to make a call. Glancing up to make sure that the glass door was properly shut Reid flipped activated the phone to find just one bar left of power. With a grimace of annoyance he went to his favourite contacts and pressed the image of a very familiar face.

It only took a single ring for the phone to be picked up, but no voice greeted him. "I'm sorry." Spencer apologized. "I did something reckless and was injured. I have been under sedation and unconscious for a while now. I had no intentions of making you worry."

There was a rattling breath on the other side of the phone. "And now?" His voice was one of the many things that Spencer loved about his partner. To him it was listening to something absolutely precious.

"And now, to be honest I don't know. I woke up and once I got my bearings I wanted to call you." He paused again and his chest clenched though not from the injuries. "I am so absolutely sorry."

There was an immediate shushing and soothing sound. "No, no, love. There's no need for anything like that. You did what you thought was best, and it's something that I love you for."

Spencer's chest tightened again. "I love you." Spencer whispered as he watched a doctor and a few nurses congregate outside of his door, plainly waiting for the conversation to finish.

"I love you too." The other man replied and they were silent for a few moments. What more did either of them need to say?

"I'll call you again as soon as possible. You have my word." Spencer promised.

"I know, and I'll be waiting." Spencer smiled and they finished bidding their goodbyes before finally hung up and waved the health care providers into the room.

It took another few days before Spencer was stable enough to be transported between hospitals. A doctor would be flying on the jet with the team and an ambulance would both drop Spencer off at the plane and pick him up when they landed so that he could be transported to his primary hospital. This, of course, provided a difficult series of decisions for Spencer himself.

He realized that his partner would be coming to the hospital to visit him as would the team and they would be bound to cross paths. This meant that he would finally have to tell his coworkers and friends. It wasn't that he was ashamed of dating a male; it was just difficult talking about romance to the team since Maeve's death. They would psychoanalyze the fact that he went from a woman to a male.

That was not the case; he had always been liberal with his choices of partners. His first partners had all been males to that effect. It was somehow easier for him to establish a romantic rapport with a male figure than a female one. He just struggled with the female relationship, especially when he was going through puberty and doctoral work all at the same time.

His partner had been a god sent after Maeve's death. He got him back on his feet and made sure that he was eating even before that. Spencer knew that he would not have survived the incident if it had not been for his kind and wonderful neighbor turned lover. He was so very proud of their relationship. With that thought he asked for a few moments alone with his team after he had been trapped into the fitted transport bed that had been implanted into the plane.

He didn't quite know how to start this conversation. At best he was socially awkward and at worst he was a social pariah. His friends, understanding of his abilities as they were, conversed among themselves to normalize the situation until Spencer's feelings were under control.

Morgan was the one who finally gave Spencer the opening that he needed. "And I'll make sure to sneak you in some Good Stuff Eatery, kid. Hospital food is nasty."

JJ nodded, "We'll take turns staying with you so that you won't be lonely."

Spencer cleared his throat. "That won't be necessary."

Rossi placed a hand on Spencer's shoulder. "It is necessary. We love you and we're going to take care of you."

"You won't be alone through this recovery." Hotch continued and Spencer swallowed. In for the big moment, he supposed.

"Though I appreciate your support." He started and stared down at his fingers as they rested gracefully above the restraints that would keep him in bed in case of inclement whether. "I won't be alone, even if you didn't come and visit me too often." He paused again as his voice failed him. Spencer clenched his fingers. "My partner will, uh, be staying with me most often."

"Partner." Morgan repeated the word slowly.

"Like a sexual partner?" Blake inquired not unkindly.

A blush settled over Spencer's features. "Yes."

A silence settled over the group. Finally, Rossi spoke. "Well, it's nice that you're seeing someone. Anyone we know?"

Spencer shook his head. "I met him (there was a sharp intake of breath from someone in the group) sometime before Maeve's," his mouth went precariously dry and Spencer tried without success to moisten, "before her death. He's my neighbor, you see."

"You're seeing your neighbor." Morgan repeated as if repeating was all his brain could handle at that moment.

At Spencer's nod Garcia smiled and placed a cheerful kiss on his forehead. "Well, I for one am glad that you're seeing someone. We'll meet him soon?" Her statement cleared the air for the group and the tension faded, though it was not entirely gone.

Spencer smiled gratefully at her easy acceptance. "Yes, I believe so. He couldn't make it right when we land, however he'll be with me that the hospital tonight."

The sound of the doctor entering the plane ended further conversation with Spencer who was put under sedation for the trip, however it did not stop the others from talking quietly to one another.

"Do you think it's a phase?" Morgan asked the group as they huddled at the end of the plane. Hotch and Rossi were too dignified to huddle, however they did sit and lean towards the others more than they usually would have. "Like, this is how he's getting over Maeve?"

JJ shook her head. "Spencer has dated men before."

"You knew?" Blake asked and accused all at the same time.

"Not about this partner." JJ clarified. "I just know that his sexual preferences don't lie solely with women. We did go out on a date once."

"And you just never told us?" Morgan asked. It wasn't that he had a problem with gay people, he really didn't. He did, however, have a problem with his best friend being gay and not telling him. Gay. Bi. Whatever. The point was that by not saying something, Reid might as well have just been lying. A hand massaging his shoulder, Garcia's hand, helped him to relax. He placed his over hers and entwined their fingers.

"It wasn't my secret to tell, Morgan." JJ shot back and things began to become heated once more until Rossi turned towards them from his seat.

"This is Reid's business and we should respect that. We all already live with one another, so forgive me if I'm not upset that the kid kept a secret to himself."

"But Rossi." Morgan started and Hotch held up his hand.

"Enough. This matter cannot be solved now and should not be solved now." He lowered his hand and in a gentler tone spoke, "we have a long flight ahead of us and should really be getting some sleep- don't you think?"

With the soft suggested command of their leader the party dispersed to occupy themselves in ways that suited their personal dispositions. Though Hotch and Rossi acted as though they were unconcerned when Reid was brought to the hospital and settled they too did not leave. Everyone wanted to meet this man that had so captured their young genius' heart.

It was a few hours after landing that a man in either his late twenties or early thirties began to make his way along the ICU. As he went he counted the room numbers clearly searching for the right one. The team watched either out right or from beneath lowered lashes to profile. When he reached Spencer's room he touched the doorknob but then turned away and leaned back on the wall as if unable to support himself due to the severe weight of what was beyond that portal.

He was undoubtedly shorter than their tall friend, though not by much. His build was strong but still lanky in a way that was attractive. When he had wandered by them the team acknowledged his accent, English but with a trace of Scottish brogue. He was dressed in tan trousers and a deep red buttoned down shirt whose sleeves were rolled to the elbows. The man's hair was a pleasant dirty blond that complemented soft hazel eyes. Upon listening closer they could hear the man whispering to himself.

"Come on there Nev. You're a Gryffindor, a bloody well Gryffindor. You're going to push on through that door and demand to know what he was thinking- marching off and all that." He paused. "That's absolute rubbish, it is, but still you're going through that door." His clenched fist moved up and was pressed firmly to his forehead over closed eyes. "Come on Nev, you good old lad. You've seen far worse than whatever is behind that door." When that didn't seem to work he thumped himself once. "The man you love is hurt and sick behind that door. You're to be by his side every step of the way." That last pep talk seemed to be all he needed because his back straightened and he stood of his own power. With a deep breath he turned to the door and after one final lung filling moment he twisted the nub and stepped over the threshold, tucking it snugly closed behind him.

"Baby girl?" Morgan asked, however Garcia was already typing away on her computer.

"Got it. Gryffindor, if I spelt it right. Is a house of a prestigious boarding school in Scotland, actual whereabouts are not listed as it is a school for high ranking government officials, lords, the rich, and those who have been grandfathered into the system via association. The Gryffindor house stands for those who are courageous above all other things." She continued to type. "Oh, it was a site of a huge terrorist attack in 1998."

"And there's seeing worse." Rossi commented.

"If he went there." Blake countered.

Rossi and Hotch left a half hour later with the silent understanding of expecting a full report. Blake followed their lead and left not too long after. As a relatively new member of the team she felt as though she had less of a right to be partial to this private moment. That left Morgan, JJ, and Garcia staring at the closed wooden orifice that stood between them and their friend- and his lover.

Another hour passed by when Morgan stood. "I'm going in there."

"No, Morgan wait." Garcia warned, but it was too late and the girls rushed after him. With a bang the Chicago native thrust open the door to find the sight of Reid being tenderly held by the man from earlier. They looked startled and the man in question looked about ready to jump out of his skin, or at very least the bed.

"Who are you?" Morgan questioned as JJ and Garcia came in behind him. They closed the door and stood silently by the exit.

Reid and the man exchanged glances before he unwrapped his arm from around their friend and stood off the bed, his stockinged feet making little noise on the tile floor.

"I'm, uh." He touched the back of his head nervously before sticking out a hand and taking a step towards Morgan. "I'm Neville Longbottom. It's a pleasure to meet you all after hearing details for such a long time." Morgan did not accept the handshake.

"For such a long time, huh?" He asked attackingly. "Pray tell, give us the details on how long this has been going on- because we've just found out."

In a clearly unconscious show of defensive measures Neville took a stance in front of his lover's bed. "I would say going on bit."

"A bit." Morgan said slowly. "And in actual time?"

The two shared another look. "I would say about a year."

"About a year." Morgan repeated. "This has been going on for a year and you never even told us?" Morgan directly the last comment at the man he couldn't even see through his partner.

"Yes." Neville's stance changed dramatically, something that all the profilers in the room read. This was a different person- someone who would not let Morgan push him, or his partner around. "And it was his choice to not tell you. Judging by your reaction, I don't blame him. You should respect him, or does he grill you on every girl you bring home?"

"You're not a girl being brought home for a night of fun." Morgan was enraged.

"Why? Because I'm a guy?" Neville replied back still using an easygoing tone of voice that directly contradicted his intimidating posture.

"No!" Morgan would never, ever have an issue with that. "You being a guy isn't the problem." He ran his hand over his baldhead in frustration. "You're his partner, not just for one night, but for a long time. That's what I have a problem with."

"You didn't have a problem with JJ hiding her relationship" Reid called from the bed and Garcia put her hand on JJ's shoulder to keep her out of the confrontation.

"Yes, but we all knew about their relationship."

"So, why is this any different?" Reid called back.

"Because I had no clue!" Morgan finally exclaimed. "I had no idea that my best friend was with someone. I thought that you were still suffering-"

"I am still suffering." The pain in Reid's voice cooled the anger from the room. Morgan was immediately ashamed of his actions.

"Reid, I'm." He paused, "I'm sorry man. I didn't." He couldn't continue.

"I know." Reid supplied and Neville moved out of the way so that the two could look at each other. They had always been partners on the team, which was why it hurt so much. They were friends and more important they were each other's immediate partner, and Morgan hadn't known.

They were all silent for a long time before Neville cleared his throat. "Listen, this started all wrong. Um." He walked back over to Morgan and extended his hand. "Let's all try this again, shall we? I'm Neville."

Morgan stared at the hand outstretched before him and up into the eyes of the man standing before him. The internal struggle was almost unbearable, however his friendship and affection for Reid won over. "Derek." He finally relented and clasped the outstretched appendage in a firm shake.

The meeting went a lot better after that with Morgan, JJ, and Garcia finding out that Neville ran a florist and herbal remedy shop near the heart of DC close by DuPont Circle. They both lived in an old brownstone apartment building by the Van Ness UDC Metro station and had become neighbors some three years before. They had become fast friends and often exchanged weird and archaic books on the occult and herbology (hence Spencer's growing area of expertise that helped with the Miami Santeria case). He had learned about Maeve early on, though not in full detail of what she was experiencing with her stalking issue.

When she had been killed Neville had taken care of Spencer, making sure that he still ate, slept, and took care of himself hygienically. Eventually the relationship became romantic and that was what had led them to this present moment. When Neville's phone rang he stepped out to answer and the four team-members were left in silence.

"So, he seems." JJ started.

Garcia supplied the ending, "nice."

Spencer nodded. "He's more than I could have ever hoped for in a partner."

After a long silence JJ and Garcia left the room so that Morgan and Reid could have an overdue conversation.

"They've left me to the wolves." Spencer joked, however his smile faded as Morgan's failed to grow.

"You could have- no, should have told me, Reid. We're partners." Morgan sat on the edge of his friend's bed.

Spencer looked away. "Me having a partner or me liking men?"

Morgan struggled for a moment. "I don't know, both?"

Spencer sighed. "I don't know why I didn't tell you about my sexual preferences earlier. I kind of assumed that it was fairly common knowledge. I've never exactly hid my guy ogling when we go out to the bars. As for Neville, I just. I don't know. It sounds stupid, but I just felt like if I didn't say anything, that nothing would happen to him. I told you all about Maeve and she died. I didn't, and couldn't risk that with him." Spencer stared at his sheets waiting for the reprimand.

"Reid." Morgan sighed. "Listen, I forgive you for not telling me, about Neville. About the whole thing. You get off the hook this time." They were silent for a long time with the tension still thick in the air. Morgan spoke. "Hey pretty boy, did you really just use the word ogling?"

They laughed and the tension officially broke. They conversed normally for a time before Spencer put a hand on Morgan's knee.

"I suppose I should tell you first then. Neville is planning on purposing to me." Morgan sputtered for a few minutes before replying.

"Aren't you supposed to tell me after it's happened?" He didn't need to ask how Reid knew- they profiled people for a living.

Spencer shrugged. "Just putting it out there that my best man position is open for applications."

Morgan chuckled heartedly, though truly he was touched at the gesture. "As if I would let anyone else apply for the position. But, why don't we wait until the actual proposal before we start designing the big day, hm?"

Spencer met his eyes and they smiled. "I thought that would be your reaction. And, yes. I'll not bring it up until he asks me."

They laughed again and Morgan poked Spencer in the shoulder. "I guess I don't have to ask who wears the pants in the relationship."

Spencer laughed. "In the relationship he definitely does." A wicked gleam shone in his eyes. "Not in the bed, however." Morgan made a shocked noise and then shoved Spencer on the shoulder.

"Dude!"

"Hey, injured!" Spencer cried out and they couldn't stop themselves from laughing loudly until the door was opened. Garcia looked at them.

"Is this a private party, or is anyone welcome?" At their nod the room refilled with their teammates and Neville.

When visiting hours were over Neville set out his things on the cot that the nursing staff had acquired for his use. Going over to Spencer's bed he placed a kiss firmly on his lover's lips.

"So, we told them." Spencer nodded and leaned up for another.

Their lips met again.

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**This is a one-shot. I might follow up with a sequel post, but most likely not. I just had this idea running around in my head and I have another relatively similar concept also spinning up there and that one is partially written. This one just came so much more naturally because the characters were so in character.**

**Anywho, I hope that you've enjoyed this and beseech that you review (and please have it be more than three words long). And I shall already reply: I will not update soon. This is a One- Shot. Meaning, complete. Done. Finite. End. Fin.**

**Cheers,**

**iBless!**


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